Students feel the thrill of creative engineering

April 04, 2007

Teams of science students from schools around the Northern Tablelands created practical solutions to a variety of engineering and technological problems today when they competed in the Highlands Science and Engineering Challenge at the University of New England.

The challenges they faced included building (and firing) a military-style catapult and a compressed-air "leprechaun cannon", and building and operating a hovercraft, a vehicle for exploring the surface of Mars, and a fan-propelled railcar.

The 200 students – mostly in Years 9 or 10 – came from schools in Armidale, Ashford, Bundarra, Inverell, Tenterfield and Walcha.

This was the fifth annual Highlands Challenge that UNE has hosted as part of a national program that now involves about 12,000 students from more than 400 schools throughout every Australian State and Territory. UNE's Dr Peter Lye, the coordinator of the Armidale event, said the activities had totally engaged the students, stimulating them to develop creative solutions to the problems posed. "This experience has given them an insight into the exciting world of the professional scientist and engineer," he said.

"You've all been problem solvers," Dr Lye told the teams before presenting them with their participation trophies at the end of the day. He then presented the Champion's Trophy to the team from Tenterfield High School. (The runner-up was the team from Walcha Central School.) The victorious Tenterfield team will go on to participate in the Super Challenge in Newcastle in August.

The Highlands Challenge is sponsored by UNE, Engineers Australia, Young Engineers Australia and Armidale Central Rotary Club. The Rotary Club's David Steller, who chairs the organising committee, said that the national program had attracted Federal Government funding and had contributed to an increased interest among high-school students in technology and engineering careers.

Several Rotary members joined about 30 people from UNE – including lecturers, technical officers, postgraduate students and science-teaching students – in guiding the teams through the activities today in UNE's Lazenby Hall.

THE PHOTOGRAPH of the "Mission to Mars" vehicle displayed here expands to show its creators Amber Woodward and Kate McMeniman from Tenterfield High School with UNE's Rex Glencross-Grant and Augusta Macdonald.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at April 4, 2007 04:50 PM